Morphometric study of the cervical spine

Abstract

The knowledge of cervical vertebrae morphology and anatomy, adjacent structures and variations is essential for the safety performance of cervical spine surgical procedures. Several techniques were described for treating cervical spine disease, including atlas lateral mass screw, axis translaminar screw, vertebral body screw and plate anterior fixation, subaxial lateral mass screw (C3 to C6), cervical pedicular screw and percutaneous transfacet screw. Many challenges exist with the development of cervical spine surgical techniques, including neurovascular structures proximity, anatomic variability and radiographic difficulties. The present results of the literature of the cervical spine vertebrae morphometry do not include the Brazilian population, what motivated our project. (AU)